ILM's Top 77 Albums of 2019

I have tried to resist doing this but I can take it no longer: it is CARLA DAL FORNO, guys.

force of habit :(

Lana Dal Ray, goddit

(that said, of course there are loads of women on these lists making music that is nothing like this, and I can't think of that many men making it?).

kindness and dev hynes spring to mind - wonder if we'll see either of those albums? really liked the kindness one tbh

I voted for it but doubt it's in the top 200

i do understand the point about ilm really liking 80s synth poppy stuff in general and i agree about that as a trend but those particular records and artists are disparate enough that together they're not really the best representation of that trend

I tried AVH, emil.y, but only fleetingly. I liked the sounds but suspect it would take longer to really sink in. Anywhere I should start?

I'm a first time album poll voter. I voted for 15 albums.

Three have already placed, and I'm pretty sure eight more will. One definitely won't place (Charly Bliss' Young Enough), and three are doubtful (Nilufer Yanya, Mdou Moctar, and The Highwomen).

― aphoristical, Tuesday, February 4, 2020 6:40 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

oh hey I voted for Charly Bliss in both polls! (I was more disappointed to not see "Capacity" in the tracks poll than I will be if the album doesn't make it.)

xp her most recent record, dead magic, was particularly good

Ty, I will give it a try when next out walking

I liked The Miraculous but I'm not familiar enough w/ her whole discography to give a proper run-down.

Will try that too! The more organ, the better.

reckon charly bliss will place (deservingly)

I’m expecting Charly Bliss to be the only one of my votes to place.

Charly Bliss will place. I think Louise Burns is destined to end up with three top-five votes and nothing else.

Listening to Sault. Something there but if there's another track like Living In America I'm turning this the hell off

Why?

It was very bad

The rest has been decent though

Strange, I can't see anything obviously different about that track

i do understand the point about ilm really liking 80s synth poppy stuff in general

Don't think this has much significance seeing as it's Weyes Blood, Purple Mountains and Big Thief with multiple entries in the tracks results

https://i.imgur.com/hhgYy0D.jpg
#40 – Sunn O))) – Life Metal (293 points, 10 votes, 1 #1 vote)

Sunn o))) C/D, S&D.

POLL: When pronouncing the band name "Sunn O)))", do you personally pronounce the long 'O' vowel thingy at the end?

https://www.kerrang.com/reviews/album-review-sunn-o-life-metal/

I do not get why these guys, good as they sometimes are, are always the metal of choice in these polls. But then again I've not given this a proper listen yet. Maybe it's one of their more interesting efforts?

enjoyable
but no monoliths

didn't really return to it

my fav gig of last year tho

they tend to play to the drone/"experimental" crossover crowd more than metal and end up picking up fans across the board imo

Nice. Good album, my favourite of theirs since Monoliths & Dimensions (I haven't heard them all, though).

speaking of not-basic, what on earth is this Kim Gordon album doing :D

― TOO LOW, the Curator (imago)

smoldering with rage, menace bubbling under

had you heard the Body/Head stuff? if not then I could see this coming as a shock to ppl familiar with late-period SY

It was glorious. Fall influence very strong

A #40 on ilxor and an Oscar next monday for Hildur Gudnadottir

sunn definitely plays more as drone than as metal to me, i find it soothing

plus they put out a companion album to this one that is literally drone

Where should someone with limited affinity for metal but a reasonable appetite for ambient (so probably the dronier stuff) begin with this band?

A #40 on ilxor and an Oscar next monday for Hildur Gudnadottir

This Ancestral Recall album rules.

I had no idea he was such a polymath: writer, producer, executive producer, trumpet, brass, djembe, dundunba, sangban, kenkeni, Ewe drums, tambourine, kalimba, bata, congas, synth drums, percussion pad, MalletKAT, MPC, keyboards, bass synth, drum kit, drums, vocals, art direction

Where should someone with limited affinity for metal but a reasonable appetite for ambient (so probably the dronier stuff) begin with this band?

Monoliths and Dimensions. Start with Alice and go from there.

I don't get it, what does this album have to do with her?

In addition to Greg Anderson and Stephen O'Malley, the album features collaborators Tos Nieuwenhuizen, Tim Midyett, Hildur Guðnadóttir and Anthony Pateras.

Best since Monoliths for sure, really enjoyed a Sunn O))) record again. And Hildur has no small part in that imo.

thx Chinaski

https://i.imgur.com/UaFjwFP.jpg
#39 – Kelsey Lu - Blood (301 points, 11 votes, 1 #1 vote)

Kelsey Lu - Blood

https://www.npr.org/2019/04/30/718452295/kelsey-lu-a-classically-trained-rule-breaker

great album, glad it made it

didn't vote for it but there's some really good and lovely things on that kelsey lu record

really amazing record

It was enjoyable at the time but I haven't really felt the need to revisit it.

didn't vote for it but there's some really good and lovely things on that kelsey lu record

co-sign

https://i.imgur.com/bobnEIe.jpg
#38 – Erika De Casier – Essentials (306 points, 10 votes, 1 #1 vote)

Erika de Casier - Essentials

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/a3xk4k/stream-erika-de-casiers-debut-album-essentials

too low, too beautiful

Surprisingly low.

this was a nice discovery through the tracks poll

i just put on the kelsey lu record again and i'm regretting not voting for it. tends to blow my mind in a different way every time i hear it